The 29th
by KooKoo 4 Kaiba
Summary: It's February 29th, which means that the Turtle Titan is on duty.  What does his family do, though, when he doesn't come home from patrol?  Now complete!
1. Chapter 1

Hey, everyone! I cannot believe how much feedback I got on my first TMNT story! Thanks to all of you who reviewed. It really made my day. I recently watched Captain America (which was awesome!) and I thought about how similar he is to Turtle Titan, as far as costumes go. I then realized that I really couldn't find many stories in which the Justice force is featured. So, that's how this story came to be. Now that school's about to start, I have a lot of studying to do. Though I will be occupied, I hope to update this story at least once a week. I apologize if there are any mistakes in this story, I'm in a bit of a rush. I hope you all enjoy this!

Warnings: Um, I don't think there are any! I don't like cussing, so you don't have to worry about that. There will be no slash. If anything, I would say violence, but I don't think there will be any more than just beating up bad guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or the Justice Force. I don't own any copyrighted material that I may have referenced in this story either.

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><p>Michelangelo could hardly stand it. He was practically jumping off the walls with excitement. He had been driving his family crazy all day with his antics, not that he really cared. They could deal with it. He didn't know how long he could cope with this waiting, however.<p>

"Just a couple more minutes and it will all be over," Mikey said to himself, his gaze never leaving the clock.

The seconds hand on the clock seemed to go an inch per hour. It endlessly taunted him with that cursed ticking. He wondered if it was another form of Russian water torture. Or was it Siberian? Chinese? Well, it didn't matter what country it was from; the clock still wasn't moving any faster. Mikey smiled gleefully as the hand reached the halfway mark. Just thirty more seconds to go. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight. Twenty-seven...

A voice interrupted his mental countdown. "Hey, Mikey. What are you doing?"

Mike turned his head around to see Donatello standing in the doorway of the kitchen, a cup of coffee in his hand. "Oh! Hey, Don. I'm waiting."

"What are you waiting for?" Don inquired, taking a sip from his mug.

"Eight o' clock," Mike replied, a hint of longing in his voice.

"Is there a movie marathon on then?" Don guessed.

"Dude, have you completely forgotten? I'm going out with the Justice Force, man! We're gonna go fight crime, beat up guys, and all that good stuff."

"Oh, yeah. Today's February 29th, isn't it?"

Mikey looked at his older brother with a completely dumbfounded expression on his face. "Where in the world have you been all day?"

"My lab."

Mikey sighed. "Figures. You're always in there."

Donatello frowned. "I had work that needed to be done. I'm finished with it now, though. I had just come out to ask you if you wanted to watch something, but I guess you're otherwise occupied."

Michelangelo let out a withering cry of defeat. "Dude! You pick today of all days to actually do something fun?"

Don smirked and shook his head. "Well, I guess I'll have to go do something else. You said you were leaving at eight, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you'd better hurry up and leave. You're going to be late."

Mikey shrieked and jumped out of his seat as he looked back at the clock. "Oh my gosh! I'm so going to be late! Donnie, you're making me late!"

Don chuckled. "I'm not doing anything. You're the one standing there like an idiot."

Mikey stuck out his tongue. "You truly are evil, you know that?"

Michelangelo rushed over to the counter and picked up his uniform. He hadn't bothered to put it on before; he knew Raph would have teased him endlessly about it if he had. Raph was going to cause him enough trouble as it was, seeing as he had set a booby trap for him. Thank goodness he would be away when the bomb of Raph's anger exploded...

"Well, I'm off! I'll probably be back sometime tomorrow morning. See ya' later, Donnie!" Mikey called as he ran off into the sewers.

"Be careful, alright?" he heard Don yell after him.

Mikey shook his head. "Older brothers," he thought as he rushed to the nearest manhole. He quickly donned his uniform and headed up to the surface. Then, with extreme agility and speed he climbed up to the rooftops and sprinted off to the set meeting place. On the way, he daydreamed about the awesome criminals they would put in jail. They might even find a super villain! The "Turtle Titan" smiled as he thought of all the praise he would get for saving the city once again. And he would get to see some of his best buds, Silver Sentry and Nobody. He had both of their action figures at home.

He knew he had reached the meeting point when a familiar voice called, "Miche-I mean, Turtle Titan! I'm so glad you could make it."

Mikey looked up to see Silver Sentry hovering beside him. "Hey, dude! You kidding? I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Hello, Turtle Titan," said Nobody, who appeared from the shadows.

"Nobody! It's nice to see ya' again! Where's the rest of the team?"

"Since we've got the Turtle Titan on our side, we figured we didn't need to bring the entire team. Most of the members are relaxing at home, enjoying a well deserved day off," S.S. explained.

"It's nice that they got to take time off," commented Mikey. "I mean, they're on duty all the time."

"Speaking of time, we're wasting it. Let's go already," said Nobody. "Crime waits for no one."

"Alright then. Are you ready, Turtle Titan?" asked Silver Sentry.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" Michelangelo replied cheerfully.

"Good. Let's go, Justice Force!"

Silver Sentry flew off and Nobody ran after him. Mikey whooped loudly as he used his grappling hook to swing across the buildings. His brothers only wished they were that cool. He felt like Spiderman, the crisp, cool air rushing to his face.

"Maybe this is why Raph likes riding his motorcycle so much," he mused.

The February air was icy but Mikey didn't care. He hadn't been topside for a while. Don had fussed that it was too chilly, and since they were cold-blooded, their bodies would shut down. With this knowledge, protective older brother Leo had limited their exposure to the cold. When they went on their training runs, it was only for an hour or so. Raph had gone out anyway, so it wasn't a big problem for him, but Mikey hated being stuck in the lair for so long.

Now, however, he was finally free-and for the entire night! He hoped that they got to do some awesome kick-butt action. As though his wish was instantly granted, Silver Sentry stopped on a building bordering an alley. Nobody and Turtle Titan quickly caught up to him. S.S. held a finger to his lips and then motioned with his hand, telling them to come closer. He looked down into the alley, and the other superheroes followed his gaze. There in the alley was a man. He was clothed in black, and a dark hat shadowed his face. He held a briefcase in his right hand, and by the looks of how he was walking, it was pretty heavy.

The small team of heroes watched as the man stalked towards the end of the alley. He looked around himself, to see if he was being followed. Not catching sight of anyone, he walked up to one of the doors in the alley. He took a key ring out of his pocket and stuck one of the keys into the doorknob. He turned the knob, took his keys back out, and walked into the building, closing the door behind him.

"Who was that guy?" Michelangelo whispered.

"I don't know, but he looked very suspicious," replied Silver Sentry. "I'll use my x-ray vision to see what he's up to."

Turtle Titan and Nobody were silent as a look of concentration came over their comrade's face. They watched as Silver Sentry scowled at the building. After a while, he looked back to them, the scowl still present on his face.

"I should have known," he said in a grim tone.

"Who is it?" Mikey asked.

"Dr. Malignus."

Mikey gasped. He was both ecstatic and terrified. He would get to defeat a super villain! He'd been waiting for the rematch for ages. Ok, maybe he hadn't, but he was sure as heck waiting for it now. He was also scared though, because he had thought that Dr. Malignus was in jail. Of course, he knew that no matter what a person did, the villain would always get back out of jail. Take the Joker, for example. He couldn't even remember how many times Batman had put him in jail, and yet he still caused trouble. Also, Dr. Malignus was the baddest of the bad-besides the Shredder. He would stop at nothing to put the superheroes out of business for good.

"So, are we going in after him?" Mikey finally managed to ask.

"Of course. Every minute we're out here is a minute he could be using to harm innocent civilians," Silver Sentry replied.

The Justice Force leaped off the building and landed in the alley. They approached the door cautiously, ready to strike at any minute.

"Nobody, do you still have those lock-picking devices?" S.S. asked.

"Yes, I have them right here," Nobody replied.

"Good. Could you take care of this lock? I'm afraid that if I broke down the door it would make too much noise."

"Not a problem."

Nobody took out a small device and thrust it into the lock. He then turned the doorknob and opened the door. Mikey gulped. The walls of the building were covered in white tiles. The fluorescent light bulbs reflected off the tiles and nearly blinded him. It reminded him of a lab. Mikey shuddered. He hated labs.

"Guys, I have a bad feeling about this," he said quietly.

The others ignored his warning. "Alright, team, let's go. Remember, the Dr. has very advanced weapons, so be on the lookout. We don't know what he's got hiding in here, but my guess is that it's something dangerous, and it's something big."

"Roger that," Mikey said with a grin.

The team slowly walked down the hall, not making a single sound. The path seemed to go on forever, but they finally reached a large room. Many unidentifiable contraptions were scattered about. The desk that sat at the far end of the room was covered in papers with complicated equations and blueprints-only Don would know what they meant.

"No one's here," said Nobody.

"Think again," called a voice from behind.

The three heroes quickly whirled around. "Dr. Malignus," Silver Sentry said.

"Ah, if it isn't my old friend, Silver Sentry. It's so...nice to see you again," the Dr. sneered.

"It's never nice to see you, unless you're in jail!" Turtle Titan quipped.

"Oh, the Turtle Titan. We meet again. I'm afraid you won't be so lucky as you were in our last encounter."

"Luck had nothin' to do with it, dude."

"Enough talk. You know why we're here, Dr. Malignus. What are you up to?" Nobody asked in a harsh tone.

Dr. Malignus chuckled sinisterly. "I guess you'll just have to find out the hard way. Activating code red! Annihilate these imbeciles!" he shouted.

All of the machines in the large room were instantly turned on. They all turned to face the heroes. The largest machine fired up its cannon.

"Uh-oh. Guys, this doesn't look good," Mikey said.

"Justice Force, attack!" Sentry ordered.

All chaos was unleashed. The large machine fired a ball of glowing, blue light at Turtle Titan. He shrieked, but nimbly jumped out of the way. The light hit the wall instead. Mikey looked at the damage; it wasn't pretty. The entire wall had been destroyed. Mikey gulped as he backed up and headed to the smallest machine.

Silver Sentry lunged at the large machine. He tore the cannon off, but it in turn electrocuted him. Mikey looked back at him.

"Sentry! You ok, man?" he yelled.

"I'm fine!" he grunted. "Don't let yourself get distracted. Finish the mission!"

"Yes, sir!"

Mikey headed to the smaller machine which was glowing red. He got it to lock onto him and moved to where another machine was. Just as the two were about to fire, he jumped up into the air, and the two destroyed each other. Mikey smirked and moved on to the other machines.

Nobody stealthily avoided being caught by any of the machines. He cautiously sneaked behind the machines and ripped out their wiring, instantly shutting them down. He and Michelangelo teamed up to take down one of the larger weapons. Mikey was the distraction-something he was very good at being-and Nobody took out the machine from behind.

It wasn't long before the machines were destroyed and the entire room was filled with their torn off parts. "Alright! We sure showed Dr. Malignus, didn't we?" Mikey exclaimed.

"Well done, Turtle Titan and Nobody," Silver Sentry congratulated.

Dr. Malignus, however, was not intimidated. "I wouldn't say that congratulations are in order yet, Silver Sentry. You think you've won, but you're wrong! Now I have you right where I want you."

Without warning, three cages dropped down from the ceiling and trapped each of the superheroes. The three tried to break free, but it was no use. Not even Silver Sentry could escape.

Dr. Malignus laughed evilly. "Goodnight, Justice Force. I hope you sleep well," he said as he reached up to the wall and pushed a red button.

"No!" cried Michelangelo, but there was nothing he could do. The cage glowed and he felt pain stinging him all over. He fell to the ground. The last thing he saw was Dr. Malignus laughing his sinister laugh. Then darkness crashed over him.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow! I can't believe how many people read this story! You guys are really awesome. I would like to thank all of you who read this story, and all of those who reviewed. You guys really made my day. So, this semi-early update is for you! Welcome to chapter two, in which Don and Mikey both wake up feeling sore, but one's in a lot more trouble than the other!

Disclaimer: I already did one in the first chapter, so if you're looking for one, go there. I don't feel like writing one right now...

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><p>Donatello woke up in a very uncomfortable position. He was slumped over in his swivel chair with his head resting on the keyboard of his computer. One of his hands was lying on top of the mouse, and the other was dangling by his side. His back ached like he had just finished one of Master Splinter's marathon training exercises, but his rigid shell made his sore muscles even more tense. He slowly sat up, his back screaming with protest. He was extremely tired; he had stayed up the entire night working on some random project. He was so tired he couldn't even remember what it was! Since it was obvious that he needed coffee, he stood up, rubbing his eyes groggily. He took his empty coffee mug and carried it to the kitchen to get a refill. He saw Leonardo sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal.<p>

Leo looked up. "Hey, Don," he greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

Don grunted as he walked over to the coffee machine and turned it on. Leo frowned.

"Don, please don't tell me that you stayed up all night again," he said.

Don looked back at him with his bloodshot eyes. "Huh-what?" he asked.

Leo sighed. "Don you can't keep doing this; it isn't healthy. If you don't stop, I'll have to get-"

"Oh, can it, Fearless!" interrupted Raph as he walked into the kitchen. "Stop actin' like yer our ma' or somethin'."

"Good morning to you too, Raph," Leo said bitterly.

Don let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on, you two. It's only eight in the morning. Could you wait to fight until after breakfast?"

Raph rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. Don's coffee was done soon, and the turtle poured the contents of the pot into his large mug. He lifted the cup to his lips and let the hot, bitter liquid pour down his throat. Now he just had to wait for the caffeine to kick in...

"Hey, where's Mikey?" Raph asked. "That knucklehead's supposed to make us breakfast."

"Huh? Oh, the 'Turtle Titan' was on duty last night," Don answered.

"Oh yeah, tha's right. I can't believe I forgot; that bozo was yellin' 'bout it all day."

"So I heard."

Leo looked at the clock. "He should be back by now, though. What do you think is taking him so long?"

Raph shrugged nonchalantly. "Who cares? He's probably jus' hangin' out with Silver Sentry or somethin'. I wouldn't put too much thought into what that idiot's doin'."

Leo scowled at his younger brother. "That's a bit harsh, Raph. I mean, Mikey only left last night and hasn't come home yet."

"I'm jus' sayin' that you're worryin' too much."

"There is no such thing as 'worrying too much'. I worry as much as I have to because it's my job to keep you all safe, which is something you just don't understand," Leo said, obviously angry.

Raph's eyelid twitched. "This is what I mean; you're blowing up over something that isn't that important. Just wait! Mikey's gonna come through the front door any minute now."

"You are so-"

"That's enough!" Don exclaimed. His voice wasn't loud or forceful, but it was more than enough to get his brothers' attention. "Raph, just be quiet. I know you're just trying to be reasonable, but it's really getting on Leo's nerves. And Leo, chill out! I'll call the Justice Force headquarters and ask them where Mikey is, but I expect you two to stop arguing."

The others were silent as Don reached for the phone and dialed a number. He waited patiently before the other person picked up.

"Hello?" Don said into the phone. "Yes, I do have a question. Do you know if the Turtle Titan is there? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I see...Uh-huh. Alright. I'll be sure to do that. Thank you. Yes, goodbye."

Don put the phone down and turned to look at his brothers with a worried expression on his face. "Mikey isn't there. They said that they haven't heard from him, Silver Sentry, or Nobody."

A concerned frown appeared on Leo's face as well. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Do you know if Mikey took his shell cell?"

"I don't know. We could check, though."

"This is ridiculous! How do you know that he isn't just asleep in his room?" Raph suggested.

Don shook his head. "The alarm would've noticed his presence an alerted us."

Raph sighed. "Anyway, I think you're overreactin' about this whole thing, but you can do whatever ya' want. I'm gonna go work out."

He stood up and left the kitchen. Don picked up his phone again and hit one of the numbers on speed-dial. To his dismay, the sound of another phone ringing could be heard in the distance, answering their question. Don pushed the "end call" button and put the phone back down.

"He didn't take his shell cell," he concluded.

"Well, do you think he-" Leo began to say, but was soon interrupted by a surprised cry, which sounded like it was coming from the training room. The two turtles looked at each other warily before rushing off to see what had happened. There, standing in the doorway to the training room stood Raphael, but he was covered head-to-toe in raw eggs. Above him was an overturned bucket, which had held the eggs before Raph had walked in and triggered the trap. It was definitely the handywork of none other than their youngest brother, Michelangelo.

"I thought you were supposed to be a ninja, Raph!" Don exclaimed, barely suppressing his laughter.

"Yeah," Leo joined in on the teasing. "Can't you avoid a harmless egg?"

Raph turned around and gave them both the death glare. Even though it was meant to intimidate them, an egg yolk fell down his face at the same time, ruining the effect. That was all it took to get Don laughing.

"Shut up, Einstein!" Raph snarled.

Don did his best to compose himself. "Ok, ok. Sorry, Raph," he ammended.

"Ya' know what?" Raph asked menacingly. "I really think we _should_ go look for Mikey!"

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><p>Mikey groaned. He was so tired that it was ridiculous. He wondered if he had fallen asleep watching another horror movie marathon. He could never get a lot of sleep during one of them. Those monsters were freaky, no joke! Sometimes he could just hear the zombies sneaking up behind him, their foul, rotting flesh crunching with each step. Ok, he was getting off track. He knew he had to get up, despite how much his body hurt. He hadn't remembered the couch being this uncomfortable. Maybe he could convince Master Splinter to give him a day off. Yeah, that sounded nice...<p>

It took nearly all of his energy, but he succeeded in opening his eyes. When he did, though, he knew that he had definitely not fallen asleep on the couch. He was in a large room. The walls were covered with white tiles which reflected the light into his eyes, nearly blinding him. He was given a sense of deja vu by looking at them, and he knew he had thought those same thoughts before, but he couldn't quite remember why, when, or where. For a moment he was so discombobulated that he thought he had somehow switched bodies with Don and ended up sleeping in the older turtle's lab, but when he looked around himself further, he realized it was nothing so harmless-or incredibly weird.

It was then that Mikey remembered that he had been kidnapped by the evil mastermind, Dr. Malignus. The doctor was in plain sight; he was sitting at his desk, writing down some nonsense, completely oblivious to the fact that he was now being watched. Unfortunately, something else was in Mikey's direct line of sight: his cage. He remembered how Dr. Malignus had gotten the cage to electrocute him. If he wanted to have any chance of escaping, he would need to lay low and draw no attention to himself, otherwise the doctor would do the same thing again, and his body hurt enough as it was.

"Let's see," Mikey thought. "What would Leo do in a situation like this? He's always coming up with a plan. What would he tell me to do first? Probably observe my surroundings, so I guess I'll start with that."

Mikey lifted his head up as far as he could, which was about an inch off the ground. He looked to his right and saw Silver Sentry. The caged superhero was still knocked out, and judging by expression on his face, he wasn't too comfortable. Mikey looked to his left. Nobody was knocked out too, but he didn't look too uncomfortable. Even if he was, Mikey wouldn't have been able to tell, since his face was covered with his black mask.

Mikey gasped. Did he still have his mask on too? He dearly hoped that he did, because if he didn't...well, he didn't really want to think about that. If Dr. Malignus figured out what he was, he wouldn't be the only one put in danger; his family would be placed in great jeopardy as well.

Panicked, Mikey reached his hand up to touch his mask. He sighed in relief as he felt the comforting fabric on his fingers. He had to keep his identity a secret, no matter the cost.

Since he now knew where he was, he figured that the next step was to try and find anything to get him out. He saw the red button on the wall, but he _really_ didn't want anyone to push that thing again. Dr. Malignus had cleaned the place up since the fight, so there were no longer any pieces of the destroyed machines that he could use to aid him in his escape. The bars of his cage were placed closely together, so throwing something-if he even had anything-would be a challenge. He figured that there had to be a switch somewhere that could release him from his cage. He scanned the room, remembering to look for things that didn't seem suspicious. He found a laser pen, a bookmark, a coupon for an ice cream bar, and a cell phone.

"That cell phone could definitely come in handy," Mikey thought. "I sure wish that I had brought mine. Now if only I could find something to reach it with."

Michelangelo searched the room for things which were close enough for him to reach. "Let's see," he thought. "There's a piece of paper, an old gum wrapper, Dr. Malignus, a-wait, Dr. Malignus?"

Mikey looked up to see the doctor staring down at him; he had been discovered.

"Well, it seems as though you're awake now," the doctor said. "Unfortunately, I'm not ready for you right now, so you'll just have to go back to sleep."

Mikey groaned as he saw Dr. Malignus reaching up to push the red button again. The electricity surged through the cage, the pain burning him intensely. He thought one thing before he passed out again:

"I sure hope my brothers are looking for me..."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! I'm sorry it took me so long to post this chapter; I've had places to go, things to do. Anyway, this chapter is sort of short, so I'm sorry about that. I'll try and do better on the next one though!

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><p>After Raph finished cleaning himself up, the three turtles gathered in the kitchen to come up with a plan.<p>

"So, where should we look for that bonehead first?" Raph asked.

"I think we should start by going to Justice Force Headquarters," Leo answered. "If Mikey still isn't back, then we'll try and get some information about where to look. We could ask them about where the team was headed last night. Hopefully, they'll be able to give us some possible leads."

"What should we do about transportation?" Don inquired.

"I think that good, old fashioned walking should suffice. It's not like we can just drive an old army truck through the middle of the streets during rush hour."

"We should use disguises then, right?"

"Yes, that would probably be a good idea," Leo joked.

Don approached the closet where they held their disguises. He pulled out three black trench coats, along with matching boots, mittens, scarves, and bolero hats. He handed them out, and the turtles put them on. Don also took out their shell cells and a couple of other gadgets, just in case they needed them.

Once they were all ready to go, Leo led them to the front door. Master Splinter was standing in front of it, as though he had been expecting them.

"Leonardo, are you and your brothers going out?" the old rat asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Leo nodded. "Yes, Master Splinter. We're going to look for Mikey. Hopefully, we won't take too long."

"Then I wish you luck on your mission, my sons," Splinter said. "The outside world is an especially dangerous place for you during the day; you must remember to be careful."

"We will, Sensei," Leo promised.

Master Splinter looked pleased with the response. He stepped to the side, allowing his sons to pass. The three brothers bowed to him and then walked out the door and into the tunnels of the sewer. The quickly made their way to the nearest manhole and clambered up the ladder. They pushed the cover off and climbed up into an alley. They placed the cold, metal disk back on top of the manhole, covering it up again. The morning air was cold and biting, and the turtles pulled their coats around themselves tightly.

"Alright, Don, which way are we headed?" Leo asked as he shivered with the cold.

Don took out his GPS system and looked up the location of Justice Force Headquarters. "It looks like we're headed north," he replied after a while.

"Ok. Guys, follow my lead," Leo commanded as he walked down through the alley and towards the sidewalk bordering the street. His brothers obeyed and followed silently. It was easy not to look suspicious in the winter, because nearly everyone was wearing a heavy coat. The three turtles easily made their way through the throngs of people and continued walking north.

"So, do you think Mikey's really in trouble?" Raph asked.

"I really don't know, Raph, but there's definitely a possibility," Leo answered.

The brothers continued the rest of their journey in silence, apart from Don giving them directions every once in a while. All three were beginning to worry about what could have happened to their youngest brother. They knew that Mikey could take care of himself, but trouble always had a way of finding him, whether he asked for it or not.

It took them about fifteen minutes to reach their destination, even though the traffic wasn't too bad. Justice Force Headquarters was a large, multi-storied building that towered over many of the ones surrounding it. It was made completely of metal and glass, making the sunlight reflect off of it dazzlingly. At the top of the building, the words "Justice Force" were written in large, bold letters.

Leo, Raph, and Don walked up to the large glass doors. They pulled them open and walked into the lobby. Very few people were there, and the place was fairly quiet. Leo walked up the the front desk, his brothers following closely behind. The girl sitting at the desk looked up at them.

"Hello! Welcome to Justice Force Headquarters, the home of your favorite heroes. How may I help you?" she asked cheerfully.

"Hi," Leo greeted. "I've come to ask about the whereabouts of the Turtle Titan. My brother called earlier, but said that he hadn't returned yet. Is he still not here?"

The smile fell from the girl's face. "The Turtle Titan? Ah, yes, he went on patrol last night with Silver Sentry and Nobody. They aren't back yet, but there's no need to fret. I'm sure they'll be here in no time," she said nervously.

Leo didn't seem convinced. "In that case, do you know where we can find him?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Raph growled at the woman. "Listen here, lady! You're gonna tell us where he is right now, or-"

"That's enough, Raph!" Leo interrupted.

"Please, he's our brother. Are you sure that there's nothing you can tell us?" Don asked.

The girl looked hesitant. "Well, I'm not really supposed to say anything, but since you're family, I suppose I can make an acception." She looked around nervously before continuing, "There have been some strange things going on lately."

"What strange things?" Leo questioned.

"About a month ago, Dr. Malignus broke out of jail. At first everything was normal, but about a week ago, some of the heroes started disappearing."

"Why haven't we heard about this on the news?" Don asked.

"We haven't released any information about this to the press yet," the girl answered. "We didn't want the people to panic. Things have gotten really bad, though; about a fourth of the team has gone missing. We won't be able to keep the information from them for long."

"I see. This is bad," Leo commented. "Do you think you can tell us where the Turtle Titan was headed last night?"

The girl shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, there's no way to tell where they were going last night; we don't exactly document those things."

Leo sighed. "Well, do you have any information that might help us?"

The girl looked at her desk thoughtfully. "I can't guarantee that they'll help you, but you can look through some of the old files."

"Thank you," Leo said. "I appreciate it."

The girl rummaged through her desk and pulled out a few folders. "Here," she said.

Leo thanked her again and then turned to his brothers. He handed each of them some of the folders, and the three turtles started sifting through them, picking out any important facts.

"Hmm, this is interesting," Don commented as he read something from one of his files.

Leo and Raph looked up at him. "What is it?" they asked.

"It says here that right before he was captured, Malignus was working on a project in an old, abandoned laboratory," Don replied. "The project was never finished. Do you think he could have returned to finish what he started?"

"I don't know, but so far it's our only lead," Leo said. "Let's go check it out."


	4. Chapter 4

Well, this update is a _bit_ later than I had hoped! I'm sorry, things have been really busy. I know that it's not much of an excuse, but it's all I've got. XP

Also, I wanted to work harder on this chapter than I had with the previous one, which I was rather disappointed with. Of course, I probably failed and made this one even _worse_, but hey! I tried.

Anyway, welcome to chapter 4, in which Dr. Malignus gets his super villain monologue!

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT.

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><p>Mikey was miserable. Absolutely miserable. After being zapped by that zappy-cage of doom, he had been gifted with unconsciousness-a wonderful gift, really. He didn't know how long he had been out, but he supposed that it had been a couple of hours. Of course, he had never been too good at estimating time; one could play video games for an hour and it would only seem like fifteen minutes had passed. And, well, he played video games. A lot.<p>

He had just recently woken up, but no sooner than he had, he wished he was still asleep. His body ached even worse than it had before, and his muscles had turned to mush. He had managed to open his eyes, but nothing was visible; the room was pitch black. For a while, he thought he had gone blind from being electrocuted too much, even though he wasn't quite sure how that would work. Curse that zappy-cage, or whatever it was...

That wasn't the worst of it, though. After a while, he had started to hear voices. They weren't loud voices, but they were enough to keep him from going back to sleep. The whispering wouldn't go away, and it only seemed to get worse when he grunted with annoyance. Now positive that he was both blind and insane, all he wanted to do was go back to sleep.

"Turtle Titan? Come on, Turtle Titan!"

"Stop it already! You're wasting your time. You've been at it for the last five minutes, and nothing's happening."

Mikey groaned again. The whispering was really starting to wear down his patience. Maybe he would just give them a piece of his mind...

"I think he's coming to!"

"You said that two minutes ago."

"I mean it this time, though."

"You said that last time, too. And the time before that. And the time-"

"Ok, you know what? If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

It was like someone had taped one of Raph and Leo's arguments and replayed it, except quieter. A lot quieter. The voices were getting louder in the heat of the argument though, and Mikey had finally had enough.

"Well, maybe if we-"

"Would you two just shut up?" Mikey exclaimed.

"Oh, Turtle Titan! You're awake! I told you he was waking up."

"Oh, tell it to someone who cares."

"Ok, I know your goal in life is to make me miserable by driving me crazy, but could you take it easy on me? I'm kind of new to this whole insane thing," Mikey mumbled.

"Turtle Titan, what in the world are you talking about?"

"Maybe his brain got fried."

"I sure hope not. Turtle Titan, it's me, Silver Sentry. Are you alright?"

"What? Silver Sentry? Is that you?" Mikey asked incredulously.

"Yes, it's me. Nobody and I have been trying to wake you up for a while now."

"Oh, sorry," Mikey apologized. "Wow, it's nice to know that I'm not crazy! Hey, this might sound weird, but are you guys blind too?"

Nobody scoffed. "Blind? Dr. Malignus just turned off the lights. No one's blind."

"Oh. So you mean I'm not blind and insane?"

"No. You're not," Silver Sentry replied, trying to keep the humor out of his voice, but failing desperately.

"What?" Mike asked, purely confused as to why they were amused.

His comrades cleared their throats. "Sorry, Turtle Titan," S.S. apologized. "It's nothing."

"Uh-huh. Right. Anyway, does anyone know what's going on?" Mikey asked, trying to get up to speed. "Where is Dr. Malignus?"

"Oh, don't worry, Turtle Titan. I'm right here," said an ominous voice.

The white lights were instantly turned on, making Michelangelo blink his eyes furiously in order to get used to it. "Ack! Dude, really? Couldn't you have given us more of a warning? I mean, and nice 'Hey, guys, I'm turning on the lights' would have been nice!" he complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Turtle Titan. I'll remember that next time."

"There won't be a next time, Dr. Malignus!" Silver Sentry snarled.

"Why, that's a rather daring thing to say from someone in your position. Tell me; what makes you think that you'll win this one, Silver Sentry? Because, from the looks of it, you're losing."

"I'll find a way to get free, Malignus, and then you'll be the one who is losing!" Silver Sentry declared.

Dr. Malignus laughed his sinister laugh. "Will you, now? Unfortunately, it just won't be that simple. I mean, how do you know that you won't end up like your missing friends?"

Silver Sentry's eyes narrowed. "What have you done with them, Malignus?"

"Oh, I have no idea what you're talking about! I mean, it's only a rumor that's been going around, nothing more."

Mikey just looked at the two with a confused expression on his face. "What's he talking about, Silver Sentry?" he asked.

"Oh! So you haven't told your little friend? Very interesting, Silver Sentry. I suppose I'll just have to show him what I mean," Dr. Malignus said.

"No!" S.S. exclaimed. "Whatever you've done with them, we don't want to see."

"But, they're just _dying_ to see you!" Dr. Malignus sneered.

"That's sick, Malignus!" Nobody snarled.

"More sick than you leading your friend here, even though he doesn't have a clue about what's going on? Maybe you should think again, Nobody."

"What do you mean? What _is_ going on?" Mikey asked, looking from Nobody to Silver Sentry.

"Well, Silver Sentry, would you care to explain? Or should I?" Dr. Malignus taunted.

The superhero in question looked at the floor and sighed. "Alright. Turtle Titan, when I told you last night that our teammates were at home-that they were safe-I lied," he confessed.

Mikey blinked. "You...lied?" he repeated.

"Yes. We haven't heard from many of them for a while now. They're missing in action."

"Really? How? Why...why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't want you to worry! We knew that if we did, we'd distract you and keep you from doing your best. Besides, we didn't know what was actually going on! The only evidence we had was circumstantial: Malignus broke out of jail a couple of weeks before everyone started going missing. As you can see, though, our suspicions were correct. I'm sorry, Turtle Titan. I should have told you the truth."

Mikey turned to face his friend and gave him a genuine smile. "Don't worry, S.S.! It's ok; I forgive you."

Dr. Malignus clapped. "Oh, it looks like you've all made up! How wonderful. It doesn't matter now, though, since you've all fallen into my trap. I'm afraid that none of you will ever see the light of day again," he said with mock-anguish.

"What are you planning, Dr. Malignus?" Nobody asked cautiously.

"Patience now, Nobody! Though, I guess that this is the part where I tell you what I've been up to. I feel so bad keeping you all in such suspense! Oh, wait-I don't."

"Out with it, Malignus," Silver Sentry demanded.

"Fine, I'll tell you. Before you sent me off to that horrid prison, I had been working on a project. A project that would make me the master of the world," Dr. Malignus began to explain.

"Oh, no!" Mikey groaned. "Not _another_ one of those 'I'm going to take over the world' schemes. You know they always fail, right?"

"Oh, hush now!" Dr. Malignus snapped. "As I was saying, I had been working on something. It's a device that takes someone's powers away from them, and keeps them for me to use. My previous subjects, your teammates, were not strong enough to withstand the operation, though. I have high expectations for you, however, Silver Sentry. You are stronger than all of them put together; and just think of all the things I could do with your powers! Super strength, flight, x-ray vision-the list is endless! And, after I extract your powers, I will make a super-human army and dominate the world!"

"Are you done yet?" Mikey asked, ruining the Dr.'s melodramatic moment.

Dr. Malignus turned to scowl at him. "I've had just about enough of you and your smart mouth, Turtle Titan," he sneered.

"I think we've all had enough of you and your completely lame plans. I mean, come on! That's never gonna work! Where are you going to get the army, anyway?" Mike asked skeptically.

"That's it! I think you need to _cool off_," Dr. Malignus growled.

The Dr. reached up to push a button on the wall, and a robotic arm instantly came out from the wall. It reached out to grab Mikey and wrapped its metal fingers around both of his hands, restraining them. Then the hand was detached from the arm, which retreated back into the wall. The hand, however, was still tightly gripping his wrists. Another arm popped out from the wall and bound his feet. Mikey struggled weakly against the shackles, but his energy had been previously drained by the cage, and his efforts were in vain. Had he mentioned how much he hated that cage?

"Let me go!" he cried out as he attempted to free himself.

But Dr. Malignus ignored him. He pushed a button on the wall that opened the door to Mikey's cage, but the turtle knew it didn't mean that he was being set free. The Dr. walked up to him and stooped down to grab his now restrained hands. Mikey, however, wouldn't go down without a fight. As soon as the Dr.'s foot was in range, Mikey launched his head forward and bit into it. Ignoring the terrible taste, he bit harder and managed to tear off a piece of the machinery in the suit. He spit it out in Nobody's direction. The superhero, knowing his comrade's intention, hid it underneath his cape.

Dr. Malignus screamed with rage. "That's it! You've done it this time. I was going to be merciful and give you a quick, clean death. I'm afraid that it's out of the question for you now, though. You shall die a slow death, and I will savor every moment of it."

The villain reached down and roughly seized Michelangelo's bound hands. He dragged the turtle down through a hallway in the lab and stopped in front of one of the doors. He threw it open and shoved his prisoner inside.

"I really hate to leave you alone, but I have an important experiment to conduct," Dr. Malignus snarled. "Enjoy your time in here, Turtle Titan!"

The door slammed shut before Mikey could say anything back. He was left in absolute darkness; all the light had left when Malignus shut the door. At first, Mike couldn't find anything _too_ wrong with the room. It wasn't unlike the one he had woken up in. In fact, it was a bit more comfortable than that one, since he didn't have a cage restricting him. For a moment, Mike thought he was going to be ok.

But then the temperature started to drop. It wasn't too noticeable at first, just a couple degrees. After a while, though, the temperature had changed from uncomfortable to unbearable. The floor started to feel like ice. Though he couldn't see, Mike knew that his quick, frantic breaths were coming out as white puffs. His body was numbing, and he was losing all control of his muscles. He was shutting down.

Maybe next time he would listen to Don when he talked about turtles and below freezing temperatures.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you all so much for the amazing feedback I received! I can't believe how many reviews I got! :D Anyway, here is the next chapter! It's a bit short, but I honestly got too tired to care. I hope it's not too bad! :P

I think that the next chapter is going to be the last one. I'm not sure, but that's sort of how my plans are turning out. Anyway, enjoy the chapter...if you can.

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><p>Silver Sentry was strapped down to a metal operating table. There were wires all over him, hooking him up to a machine in the corner. Even though he had super strength, he found that he couldn't break free from the bonds that held him to the machine. He figured that they must have been made especially for him. Dr. Malignus, though evil and insane, was a technological genius. He always seemed to be coming up with new ways to defeat his nemesis-and rule the world.<p>

"So, Silver Sentry, are you ready to be my next test subject?" Malignus asked, though he had no intention of listening to the hero's answer. "I must confess that I'm just jumping out of my seat with excitement! Oh, won't this be fun?"

"You're a crazy madman! You'll never succeed," Silver Sentry spat back at him.

"Yes, I'm sure I won't, seeing as I've taken care of everything that could possibly go wrong. It took me quite a while, though, I hope you know. You wouldn't believe how many tests I had to run to get it right. Enough chit-chat, though, we've got work to do. The world is eagerly awaiting its new ruler."

Dr. Malignus walked over to the machine and turned it on. He pulled a few levers and pressed a few buttons, setting in different commands. Silver Sentry could hear the gears turning from where he was. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.

"Let him go, Malignus!" Nobody called from the other side of the room.

"And why should I?" the villain asked. "I'm the one in charge here; I give the orders. How dare you defy me?"

Nobody narrowed his eyes. "This is your last warning. I will show you no mercy if you do not comply," he threatened.

Dr. Malignus laughed. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor, Nobody! Maybe I can keep you as my royal fool when I'm king. Now is not the time for jokes, however. I'm very busy, and I don't have any time to waste."

"I wasn't joking, Malignus. It's too late for you now, though." Nobody pulled the small piece of machinery from underneath his cape. With extreme accuracy, he threw the piece through the bars of his cage. It was just small enough to fit through the bars and big enough to hit the panel on the wall that controlled the cages. The piece hit the controls right in the middle, and streaks of blue electricity could be seen erupting from it. Nobody's cage was instantly opened.

"No! That's impossible!" Dr. Malignus exlclaimed. "You can't do that! You can't escape! I'm in control here."

"Apparently I can," Nobody retorted. "It looks like I'm in control now; you've lost. I suppose the world can wait a bit longer for its 'new ruler'."

Dr. Malignus growled. "You...you haven't won yet. I still have Silver Sentry, and if you come any closer I will kill him!" The Dr. put his finger on a button, ready to push it the second Nobody moved.

"I don't think so," said a voice from behind Dr. Malignus.

The Dr. quickly whirled around. "Wha-" he began to say, but he was quickly cut off by a foot colliding with his face. A two-toed foot.

Leonardo appeared from the shadows, his brothers close behind him. "Come on, guys, let's show him what happens when he messes with our brother!" he ordered.

"Shell, yeah!" Raphael shouted before charging at Dr. Malignus. The Dr. quickly fell to the ground; he didn't stand a chance against the turtle. He held his arms up over his head, shielding himself from Raph's attacks-and his appearance.

Donatello rushed over to the machine that Silver Sentry was hooked up to. He quickly shut it off while Leo freed the superhero from the bonds that held him to the table. "Are you ok?" he asked S.S. as he helped him to his feet.

"Yes, thanks to you and your brothers," Silver Sentry replied.

"Speaking of brothers, where's Mikey?" Don asked.

"I don't know. Dr. Malignus took him someplace, but I couldn't see where," Silver Sentry replied.

Raph scowled at Dr. Malignus, who was still cowering beneath him. "Ya' hear that? We're lookin' for our brother, so you'd betta' start talkin'!" he growled as he kicked the Dr. in the stomach.

"Easy, Raph," Leo warned.

Raph, being himself, didn't listen and kicked the villain again. "Come on, scumbag. Where's our brother?"

Dr. Malignus, seeing that there was no way out, replied, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you where he is. Just don't hurt me anymore!"

"Alright, I'm listenin'," Raph said impatiently.

Malignus lowered his arms from his head and looked up at Raph. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. "I don't...I don't believe it!" he gasped. "What are you?"

Raph narrowed his eyes. "Ya' said you'd tell us where our brother is, so spit it out already."

"Your brother? You mean the Turtle Titan is one of you? Incredible!" Dr. Malignus exclaimed.

Raph, who was at the very end of his fuse, grabbed the villain by his neck and hoisted him up into the air. "I asked you a question. Where is my brother?" Raph asked, enunciating every word.

The Dr. weakly lifted his hand to point to a door at the far end of the hallway.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Raph sneered, then roughly dropped the villain to the floor. "Come on, guys, let' get Mikey out of here!"

Raph ran towards the door which Dr. Malignus had pointed to, and Don followed him. Leo turned to face the two heroes. "Have you got this covered?" he asked.

Silver Sentry smiled back at him. "Don't worry, Leonardo. We'll make sure that Dr. Malignus is returned to his cell in prison. Right, Nobody?"

Nobody nodded. "We can handle this. Go and get your brother."

Leo nodded his thanks and then rushed off to join his brothers. Don was trying to break the lock on the door, and Raph was impatiently tapping his foot. It didn't take long for Don to bypass all the security, and soon the door was opened.

A gust of freezing cold air escaped the room and wafted into the hall. The turtles shivered as they opened the door further. They craned their necks to look into the room, but it was so dark that they couldn't see anything. Don took the first step into the black room and reached to find a light switch. He quickly found it and flipped it on, and light flooded the room.

The turtles gasped when they saw what was in the room. Mikey was lying on the floor, unconscious. He was so pale that there was barely any color to his skin. His few breaths were shallow and slow. The worst part, though, was that he wasn't moving. There wasn't even a twitch. He was just lying there, silent as a grave.

Leo, Raph, and Don swiftly rushed to their brother's side. Don grabbed his wrist and felt for his pulse. It was weak and slow, but still there.

"He's in bad shape, guys," Don said gravely. "I don't know if he'll be able to make the trip home!"

"Isn't there anything you can do, Don?" Leo asked frantically.

"Give me your coats; it won't do much, but it should warm him up some and buy us some time. The best thing we can do, though, is get him home quickly," Don replied.

Leo and Raph immediately shrugged off their coats and handed them to Don, who was taking his own coat off as well. The purple-banded turtle wrapped them tightly around his younger brother. Once he was done, he handed Michelangelo's frighteningly light body to Raph.

"Come on, guys, we've got to go!" Don urged as he rose to his feet.

The turtles instantly hurried out of the facility and towards their home, the whole time hoping that Mikey would be ok.


	6. Chapter 6

Wow, this chapter isn't late at all. XP

I'm so sorry, guys! I've been sick, and I honestly felt so miserable that I couldn't concentrate on anything. My grades will confirm it. Also, on top of me being sick, I've had a lot of stuff to do. I've just been so swamped that I didn't even have time for fanfiction. I also had to do a lot of research for this chapter. Some of the medical information may be completely wrong, but I honestly don't care anymore. I had to rewrite this chapter about three times because of false information. So don't you tell me it's wrong!

Anyway, welcome to chapter six, in which I inserted a lot of page breaks. There really are a lot of them...sorry.

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><p>Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello were all in the infirmary, sitting around their little brother. He lay on one of the beds, unmoving and unconscious. There were several cuts all over his body, but most of them weren't too deep and wouldn't cause scars. Burn marks covered his hands and forearms, but they too would heal in time. His skin was still unnervingly pale, but it was better than how it had been before. As the three looked over him protectively, they remembered just how close they had come to losing their brother.<p>

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><p>"Leo, go to the closet and bring me every blanket we have! Raph, follow me," Don commanded. It felt strange ordering his brothers around, but he was the one with the most extensive medical knowledge and therefore the best for the job.<p>

Leo nodded quickly and rushed off to find the blankets. Don hurried into the infirmary with Raph close behind him. He set up one of the cots that they had scavenged and motioned for Raph to come over to it.

"Raph, I need you to set him down here," Don said as he approached his cupboards and sifted through them.

Raphael nodded and ran over to the bed. As he carefully placed his younger brother on it, Raph looked over him thoroughly; he wanted to make sure that there was nothing else that could possibly do him any harm. At first, he couldn't find anything except for the occasional bruise or cut. But then, Mikey's fingers started to twitch sporadically. Raph was relieved, thinking that his brother was waking up. However, instead of waking up, Mikey's heart started thumping faster and louder. Mike's breathing became quicker and even more shallow. Then everything stopped. Mikey stopped breathing, and his heart stopped beating.

"Don...Don!" Raph exclaimed frantically. "He stopped breathing, and I can't get a pulse!"

Don whirled around to face his brother, who had already started to perform CPR on Mikey. "What happened?" he demanded to know.

"I dunno! All the sudden his heart started beatin' really fast, and then it jus' stopped," Raph informed him as he pressed his hands down on Mikey's plastron, trying to start his heart back up.

Don went into his full doctor mode. "Raph, get me the defibrillator!" he commanded. "I'll continue CPR."

Raph didn't waste a second in rushing off to find the machine. Don took over his position and started pounding his hands down on his brother's plastron. Just then Leonardo rushed into the room, holding a large pile of blankets. He took in the chaotic room and Don performing CPR on Mikey. "Don, what's going on?" Leo demanded to know as he let the blankets fall to the floor.

"His heart wasn't able to get enough oxygen, and it set off ventricular fibrillation," Don informed his brother as he paused to quickly smear some gel on Mikey's plastron. "Raph, where's my defibrillator?"

Raph succeeded in finding the object in question and handed it to his brother. Don started up the machine and pressed the paddles down on Mikey's plastron.

"Clear!" Don exclaimed, mainly to himself, as the electric current charged out of the defibrillator and through his younger brother. Mikey's body tensed up, and his muscles became rigid for a few seconds. His body quickly returned to its prior state, though. Don charged the paddles again.

"Clear!" Don said. Once again, Mikey's body tensed up, but fell back to the bed with no change.

"Come on!" Don exclaimed; he was not going to lose his little brother. He charged the paddles one last time, hoping with all his might that they would work.

"Clear!" Don said as the defibrillator sent out an electric charge with one last attempt to start Mikey's heart up again. When Mikey's body fell back to the bed, nothing happened at first. But then, his heart started beating again. He started breathing, and even though it was shallow, Raph, Don, and Leo sighed with relief to hear their little brother breathing again.

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><p>'At least he's still alive,' Leonardo thought. After the incident was over, Donatello had informed him that Mikey was actually lucky. In the strangest way possible, the fact that he was able to have a cardiac arrest may have actually saved his life. The mutagen that changed their DNA had made it possible for Michelangelo to go into hypothermia. If this hadn't happened-considering how cold the room had been-instead of hibernating, Mikey would have had a slow and painful death that was much worse than being burned alive.<p>

Though the way that Don had explained it made sense, Leo still couldn't put the thought out of his head that his baby brother had almost died. He just wanted Mikey to wake up so that he would know for sure that he was ok.

Raph, who was sitting next to Leo, was brooding. He still found it hard to believe that a nutjob like Dr. Malignus could have done this to Mikey.

'I should've done more ta protect 'im,' he thought. No matter how irrational this thought was, Raph believed it with all his heart. He sure hoped that Dr. Malignus, wherever he was, would be made to pay for what he had done.

Don was still looking over the medical records he had made for his brother. Despite his protests that he was a mechanic and not a doctor, he always ended up being one, even though he hated it.

'I wish there was something more I could do,' was the thought that plagued Donatello's mind. Though his medical knowledge was more extensive than most people's, he still knew more about machines than anatomy, especially their own. He just hoped that they all would make it through the day, alive and well.

As if someone had read the turtles' cluttered thoughts, Mikey began to stir in his sleep. The brothers, who were on alert now, rushed over to him. When Mikey's eyes finally fluttered open, he saw his family hovering over him.

"Hey, guys," he croaked out.

"Hey, Mikey," Don replied quietly.

Mike looked around. "Where am I?" he asked.

"The infirmary," Leo answered.

Mikey slowly nodded with understanding. "And...how did I get here?"

"We got ya out, knucklehead," Raph concluded.

"Wow, Raph. I didn't know you cared," Mikey said jokingly. "Does this mean that you'll be my sidekick now?"

Raph scoffed. "Not a chance, Mikey. Not a chance."

Mikey laughed, but soon broke into a coughing fit. Don brought him a glass of water, and Mikey gratefully accepted. He nearly drank the whole glass before he let out a large yawn.

"Why don't you get some rest, Mikey?" Leo suggested.

"Only if you do," Mikey countered as he settled down into the cushions of his bed.

"Alright," Leo agreed. "Sleep tight, little brother."

Despite all the worried thoughts that had been and still were running through the brothers' minds, they were all comforted by the rising and falling of Mikey's chest and the steady beat of his heart. In their own hearts, they knew that everything would be alright.

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><p>"Achoo!"<p>

Sniffling could be heard coming from the living room area. "Donnie, could you get me some more Kleenex?" whined the voice. "I think I'm gonna...I'm gonna...achoo!"

"Coming!" Don called back. He grabbed a box of Kleenex and made his way over to the sofa. His little brother Mikey was sitting there, huddled in a blanket and sniffling. It had been a couple of days since the incident with Malignus, and Mikey was making a steady recovery. That didn't mean he was any less miserable, though.

Don handed him the box, which Mikey gratefully accepted. He took out one of the sheets and blew his nose. As soon as he was finished, he smooshed the Kleenex into a ball and tossed it onto the floor, which was littered with other balls of the same substance.

"How are you doing, Mikey?" Don asked.

"I'm alright, I guess," Mike sniffled back.

"That's good. I hope you're feeling well enough for a movie, because, if I remember correctly, I owe you one."

Mikey's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really really. You can even pick the movie if you want."

"Thanks, Don! You're the best!"

Don smiled. "You're welcome."

"So, what should we watch? _Inception_ or _The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl_?"

"_Inception_, definitely."

"I don't know, I was kind of leaning towards Sharkboy..."

"Mikey, I'm serious. We are not watching that movie."

"Alright, alright, fine! Have it your way."

"I will, thank you."

"You know you like Sharkboy and Lavagirl, though. Don't try and deny it."

"Whatever," Don sighed, knowing that arguing was pointless.

After all that they had been through, it was nice to know that some things didn't change.

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><p>Thank you all so much for reading this story! I am so amazed by the awesome feedback that I've gotten. I hope to see you again sometime soon!<p> 


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